Curbside Shopping

Do you have "Bulk Garbage Day" in your area? If you do, they are a great way to pick up some free furniture and save it from the landfill! I got up bright and early (and convinced my husband to do the same) because I knew there was some good things out there. There was a lot of excitement followed by disappointment. I kept yelling at my husband "Oh, down that street, I see a dresser!" Only to see it up close and it really was garbage. But it was all worth it because I found this little dresser.

It had three coats of paint on it (white, forest green & mint green) and because of all the layers of paint the drawers were getting stuck in places. But I figured a free dresser is a good time to try stripping paint. So I headed to Habitat for Humanity Re-Store to see if they possibly had a can of leftover stripper. They had boxes and boxes of it for $4/can. I see the same can in stores for $9.99. It is called Circa 1850.

I was worried about the smell being too strong but really it just smelled like vodka and not too chemical-y. I still put on my mask though. I just spread on the stripper with an old paint brush and in a couple minutes is started to look like this.

Then I just used a scraper and the paint was coming off so easy! I was pretty amazed.

It didn't take long at all to take it right down to the wood. I used the palm sander to get all the little bits of paint off. The wood was beautiful and in great shape. I considered just staining it in a nice colour but it was faded around where the original hardware had been and I wasn't sure if that would show through the stain.

So I painted it white (of course). One of these days I'm going to go for a really fun colour. While I was at the Re-Store I found these large wooden knobs that I thought would look cute if I painted them. And they were only $0.25/knob. Great deals at the Re-Store! I was really happy with the way this dresser turned out, the knobs especially.

10 comments:

that is sooo cute! we don't have nulk pick up here, which makes me so sad. i would love to go take my neighbor's trash! actually a neighbor i didn't know was moving and had a vintage dresser and dining table in his truck getting ready to haul to the dump. my friend who lived next door told me, so i knocked on his door and told him i would save him a trip to the dump! :) i subsrcibe to you via reader, btw, and it always annoys me that it doesn't show up as follow! so i am following you, just can't see my pic up there!

Wow! Love it. You lucky gal to get something like that off of the street! We don't have bulk garbage either... I think that would make my stomach churn if we actually did and people USED IT! They either donate it to a thrift store or put it on Craigslist for free...

I know Jeralee! Some of things people were throwing out were good things! I think it is encouraged for others to pick up the stuff but the point of bulk garbage day is for actual garbage (like old fridges, etc).

I also "saved" a mint condition Little Tykes picnic table for my little girl. Who throws stuff like that away?!